Mount Myogi is not a single summit but a constellation of them. Hakuun-zan, the White Cloud Mountain. Kondo-san, the Golden Cave. Kinkei-san, the Golden Rooster. The highest, Soma-dake, reaches 1,104 meters. The mountain is generally divided into its front side, facing south toward the towns, and its back side, facing north into wilder terrain. The most visually striking section is Nakano-take, a wall of fantastically shaped rock formations along the southern slope that earns Mount Myogi its reputation. The geology tells the story: three million years ago, a volcanic caldera produced layers of dacite, tuff, and conglomerate. Over the millennia, softer sedimentary layers eroded away, leaving behind the harder volcanic rock in its current jagged, tooth-like formations. The result is a mountain that looks perpetually unfinished, as though the earth started building something and then changed its mind.

Myogi Shrine sits on Hakuun-zan, the east slope of the mountain, its vermillion torii gate framing the rock spires above. The shrine has stood here for centuries, and during the Edo period, the people of the surrounding villages believed that the god of Mount Myogi protected them from fire and lightning -- no small thing in a land of wooden houses and summer storms. On the opposite side of the mountain, Nakano-dake Shrine marks the beginning of the hiking trail that threads through the most dramatic rock formations. Mount Myogi is one of the Three Mountains of Jomo -- alongside Mount Akagi and Mount Haruna -- a trinity so central to Gunma's identity that the mountains appear on the Jomo Karuta, a traditional card game that teaches children about the prefecture's landmarks. The name 'Myogi' carries such weight locally that the dormitories of the UNESCO World Heritage Tomioka Silk Mill, registered in 2014, are named after these three mountains.

Myogi's beauty comes with a body count. The same jagged formations that draw photographers and pilgrims have produced severe hiking accidents and deaths over the years. The trails range from gentle forest walks to exposed cliff traverses that require climbing chains bolted into bare rock, with drops of hundreds of meters on either side. In January 2010, the situation prompted an emergency summit: Gunma prefecture officials, police, firefighters, and local hiking clubs gathered for what was formally titled the 'Meeting for the establishment of preventive measures to avoid accidents in Mount Myogi and surrounding mountains.' The officials proposed banning hiking altogether. The locals refused. In the end, a compromise was reached: more chains would be installed, routes would be better marked, and courses would be formally classified for beginners, intermediates, and experienced climbers. The mountain would remain open, but it would no longer pretend to be safe.

For a generation raised on manga and anime, Mount Myogi means one thing: the home turf of the Myogi Night Kids. In the street racing series Initial D, the mountain's serpentine roads serve as the battleground for four pivotal races, its hairpin turns and steep grades perfectly suited to the drifting culture that the series celebrates. The real Keiichi Tsuchiya, the legendary drift racer who inspired the series, actually honed his skills on the mountain roads of this region. It is a fitting tribute to a mountain that has always been about drama -- whether geological, spiritual, or at high speed through the autumn fog. Mount Fuji may be visible to the south on clear days, serene and symmetrical, but Myogi offers the opposite: a landscape of chaos and character, where every angle reveals a new silhouette against the sky.